Nottingham Forest welcomed Tottenham Hotspur for a memorable Carabao Cup tie to progress to the fourth round and make it four games unbeaten at home.
Steve Cooper made use of the strength of the squad at his disposal, making nine changes from the weekend.
The exchanging spells of possession between the two sides proved brighter for Forest in the opening stages; Taiwo Awoniyi sparked the first sight on the Spurs goal, picking up a loose ball before finding traffic. His ricocheted effort found the foot of the post before Jesse Lingard forced a save from Fraser Forster at the rebound.
Lingard’s involvement continued to create chances as he muscled Pierre-Emile Højbjerg off the ball to unleash a strike deflected narrowly wide.
The resulting corner caused a tussle of bodies in the box before falling to Joe Worrall, whose shot was straight at Forster.
Tottenham began to grow into the game with a series of corners punched away by Wayne Hennessey, before the newly announced Welsh World Cup keeper denied a powerful shot from Matt Doherty.
Half time: Nottingham Forest 0 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Lingard started the second half as brightly as the first, again firing from outside the area for Forster to save.
His and Forest’s sparkling start this time managed to break the deadlock, as his sliding challenge poked through to Renan Lodi. The fullback’s drop of the shoulder breezed him into space before curling a precise strike into the far corner.
Lingard almost turned provider again as his control between the Spurs lines sent through Sam Surridge, who couldn’t quite slide it past Forster.
The City Ground suddenly alive under the lights, Lingard’s spotlight was sealed after a scintillating counter was finished off, meeting Surridge’s header back into the six-yard box to head home.
Forest’s threat on the counter continued to look dangerous as the visitors were forced forward. Substitute Brennan Johnson becoming the latest to narrowly miss after being played through a vacant Tottenham half just past the 70th minute mark.
Tottenham began to pressurise the host’s backline; Richarlison’s tangle with Hennessey almost crossed the line before being pulled back for a high foot previous in the play.
Moments after, Orel Mangala was dismissed following a second yellow card after a challenge on Richarlison.
Shots on Hennessey’s goal began to pile up, as Djed Spence’s header was tipped over and a second disallowed goal from Richarlison for offside were survived.
A trio of changes and a cohesive composure from the home side were enough to see out the closing stages, as The Reds continue their cup journey to the next round.
Full time: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Starting XI: Hennessey; Lodi, Worrall, Boly, Aurier (Williams 51’); Mangala, O’Brien (Colback 77’), Yates, Lingard (Cook 77’); Surridge (Gibbs-White 77’), Awoniyi (Johnson 51’)
Substitutes: Henderson, Cook, Soh, Colback, Gibbs-White, Freuler, Dennis
Goals: Lodi (49’), Lingard (57’)
Tottenham Hotspur: Forster; Doherty (Spence 64’), Sanchez, Lenglet, Dier, Sessegnon; Højbjerg (Bentancur 45’), Bissouma, Skipp (Gil 58’); Perisic (Kulasavski 58’), Kane (Richarlison ’58)
Substitutes: Lloris, Tanganga, Sarr, Royal,
Referee: Peter Bankes
Attendance: 28,384 (2,931)